Destination: Gulf Shores, Alabama
Route: Highway 10 to 90 through Gulfport, Biloxi, MS, Pascagoula, MS, 188 to Dauphin, Island, AL, ferry to Fort Morgan, AL, to Gulf Shores, AL.
Miles Ridden: 206 Total Miles: 3,626
Points of Interest:
- 25 mile bridge across Lake Pontchartrair, north of New Orleans
- Long Beach, Mississippi
- Biloxi, Mississippi
- Home of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States
- Gulf Island National Seashore
- Fort Morgan National Historic Landmark
Today was a great day. The quickest and easiest route would have been on Highway 10. The trip to Pensacola, Florida would have taken about 4 hours. Instead, we began our trip by heading north on a 25 mile bridge over Lake Pontchartrair. Even though it has major highways east and west of the Lake, they built this beautiful, long bridge over this fantastic lake used for shipping and recreation. We then found Highway 10, but we only stayed on 10 until we could head south along the gulf. This road, mostly a nice, two lane highway, took us through some beautiful areas. We passed miles and miles of beautiful white beaches with sand so fine that it squeaked when you walked on it. The wind was blowing the sand across the road, feeling like needles against your face. But the temperature was great, and we hadn't seen the threatened thunder storms.
In Biloxi, we saw Jefferson Davis' home. It had been damaged during Katrina, since it is located directly across from the beach. The trees around the home were blown down, as well as many of the modern homes built along the highway. Many are not being rebuilt, leaving a lot of space between the homes. We rode to Dauphin Island, Alabama, and took a 45 minute ferry ride across Mobile Harbor. The ruins of Fort Morgan, Civil War fortresses used to protect the harbor from Union forces, are on both sides of the harbor. Very interesting. As the rain began to come down, we got to the resort area called Gulf Shores. Although 20 miles short of Pensacola, and without forming a committee to consider the issue, we made the executive decision to stay for the night.
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